Mace Secures Its Position With Revamped Catalog

Mace Security International Inc. hopes to protect its position in the security market by renaming the company's catalog with the better-known name Mace.

Mace, which many consumers are familiar with for its pepper-spray personal defense products, acquired the catalog SecurityandMore and its companion Web site, www.securityandmore.com, in July 2004 from American Building Control Inc. At the time, SecurityandMore was a supplier of do-it-yourself video surveillance and security solutions and had 60,000 customers.

Since the acquisition, Mace changed the product selection in the catalog and on the site almost exclusively to Mace products, including security systems, cameras, monitors, recorders, networking products and other accessories. In October, the company changed the name of the catalog and Web site to Mace "because it is a recognized name," said Eduardo Nieves Jr., Mace's vice president of marketing and investor relations.

According to the fall catalog, "The Mace brand is the unofficial trademark of an entire business, symbolizing personal security in much the same way as Xerox symbolizes copiers and Kleenex represents the facial tissue." The first book under the new name mailed to 150,000 names in October, another 150,000 in November and 140,000 in December for a total circulation of 440,000. A revamped site at macecatalog.com launched Oct. 1.

For the catalog mailing, Mace targeted small businesses such as convenience stores and dry cleaners "because they've typically been the people looking to buy these products," Nieves said. However, the company aims eventually to reach high-end users at homes.

The fall catalog's 56 pages are 14 more than in previous books under the SecurityandMore name. The extra space is dedicated to personal protection items such as Mace Pepper Spray. There's also a new section called Mace and More showcasing office furniture from the company Personal Space. Prices in the book range from $10 per item up to $3,000.

The catalog also has a new look, Nieves said. This includes more photos of the products in use and technical information meant to be understood easily by readers. There's also a glossary of terms.

"The text describing the products is written in terminology that anyone can understand," Nieves said. "Before, it was hard to understand."

Mace plans to mail a new catalog quarterly. The spring issue again will go to 440,000 names, then circulation will rise, Nieves said, though he wouldn't give an amount.

Chantal Todé covers catalog and retail news and BTB marketing for DM News and DM News.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters

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